


Resident Enis: Liar's Forest

by the_angst_alchemist



Series: Resident Enis: Untold Stories [1]
Category: Random Encounters: Resident Enis (Web Series)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Dodger is surprisingly innocent this time around, Enis is a liar, GUESS WHO WROTE A BLOODY SONG, Gen, I HAVE HAD THIS IN THE WORKS FOR TWO WEEKS, I really want fanart for RE you guys, IT'S SUNG BY TREES, Kazoos mentioned in passing, Major Character Injury, Mark hallucinates kazoo noises, Mark is a BA, Mark is also a liar, Mark likes Enis really, Me too Mark, Meeeee tooooo, THIS FANFIC BRO, That stands for Bad Attitude!, The guy is actually looking for his bro btw, This is an episode 3 fic, but he's very "noooo i'm a BA I gotta look fierce I can't go hug hiiiiiim", so instead he's all manly, sparkly vampires - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-03
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-09-21 16:44:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9557666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_angst_alchemist/pseuds/the_angst_alchemist
Summary: Dodger, Mark, and Enis stumble into the wrong forest after leaving Monster Gulch. Instead of a nice, butterfly-filled day, they end up in a place that only gets worse whenever Enis tries to talk.After all... Everyone's got their secrets, and Enis is no different.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Silvia_Phenora](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silvia_Phenora/gifts).



"We all know that living in a world like this makes weird things happen. Me most of all. I've seen a man killed by beasts. I've seen a bandit who owned three dresses. And most of all, I've seen--"  
"A sparkly vegan vampire named Enis?"  
"Can you STOP doing that?!"  
"Oh. Okay."  
"I've seen Enis."  
~  
"It's getting dark, boys. Looks like it's time we set up camp." Dodger sighed, leaning against a tree.  
"But it's so dark in here all the time, maybe it's still day--" Enis protested. Mark cut him off with a glare and a scrape of his machete on a stone nearby. "O-okay." Enis immediately set to helping Dodger with setting up camp, while Mark settled on the ground, checking on his leg again.  
That giant spider hadn't wanted to let go. His ankle was twisted awkwardly thanks to its contributions.  
"You okay, Mark?" Dodger asked, noticing him looking at the twisted ankle. "Need a hand--"  
"I'm completely fine." Mark snapped. "I'll heal in no time." Dodger gave him a look, but Mark waved her off. "Really. I'm okay."  
His lie seemed to hang in the air in front of him. Just a simple statement. Yet why did the forest seem colder? Was that just Mark's imagination?  
Enis shivered slightly. "H-how come it just got colder..?"  
No. It wasn't his imagination. It was real.  
"How should I know?" Mark muttered. "Besides, you're a vampire, you shouldn't have any problem with the cold, Enis."  
"I-I mean, I stayed in the mansion, it was pretty steady--" Enis stammered slightly. A breeze whipped his hair onto one side of his head, and he grabbed his arms, shivering in the new temperature drop.  
"Something's weird. Where are we?" Dodger asked, getting straight to the point as she dug a map out of the supply bag and rolled it out. "There's the Hunter Household.... That's where Enis was." She pointed at a square on the map, then traced her finger through what looked like a gash. "This is Monster Gulch. We got out... Here." She let her finger rest on a forest, and looked closely.  
"Liar's Forest?"  
"I... I really don't like that name, you guys," Enis breathed. "Lying's not usually very good, really... B-Besides, there's no reason to lie to you guys!"  
Another breeze.  
Enis's teeth chattered as the breeze drifted past, messing up his already-unruly hair. Mark took Enis's arm.  
He was cold as death.  
Same as usual, Mark noted.  
"Alright. What's with that? Every time you talk, it gets colder--" Another whipping wind, this time against Mark's back. "...Almost every time." The wind stopped immediately, and he continued. "And something's definitely weird. I don't trust this one bit."  
"I don't either, but I don't have a clue." Dodger clapped Mark on the back. "Let's just get some rest. We can get out of here in the morning."  
Yet in the morning, Enis was missing.  
"What... Where'd he go?" Mark muttered. "Idiot..."  
Dodger, slowly getting up, replied, "Maybe he got dragged off."  
"Yeah. So what. Let's go." He huffed, and turned away. Dodger grabbed his hand.  
"Hey. Hey. We gotta go find him. He's Enis. If he's in trouble..."  
Mark sighed. "Fine."  
Both of them began walking, searching for an answer, when a tune started up around them.  
"A forest of darkness  
A forest of lies.  
A forest of thieves and weeds  
A forest of spies  
"Your lies are what entangle you  
To the web of these dark paths  
And if you follow your lying then  
You will face the Liar's Forest's Wrath!  
"A forest of liars  
A forest of cheats!  
You'd best listen to this forest or  
This forest will have you beat."  
The music changed slightly, putting a background harmony over the verse. Mark had to strain his ears to hear it.  
'A cold wind blows o'er the windswept trees  
Yet it will never reach thee!"  
The other verse continued as normal, though.  
"And as you walk through the woods alone  
You will find a path to take  
The path of truth will not show to you  
Unless the truth you no longer fake..."  
The music faded out, leaving Mark and Dodger alone, and Mark blinked.  
"...Did the trees just start singing...?"  
"Sure seems like it. Let's go find Enis before he manages to get killed."  
~  
Enis walked alone through the woods, clutching his arms. "It's okay. It's okay. Just keep going. It's okay. It's okay."  
His every word only made the world around him colder. Freezing. It was so dark, so cold. How did he get there? Where were the others? When had he slipped into this?  
"It's got to be okay. It has to be okay. It's going to be okay."  
His skin was prickling with goosebumps as the wind around him only got worse. Colder, bringing with it a heap of force.  
Enis fell over, yet the wind forced him on, shoving him into a dark thing he couldn't see.  
It felt like jello.  
It felt like he was being shoved inside.  
And yet he could not see anything.  
Anything, that is, but black.  
~  
"Enis?!" Dodger called out. "Enis, come on! This isn't funny!"  
Mark cursed under his breath, dragging a hand through his hair as he chopped through another branch, cutting it to the ground. "He's missing. He's probably dead, for all we know."  
"No. We can't just give up on him, not until we're sure he's missing--"  
"Well guess what? I'm pretty sure he's missing. He's just vanished, and we've been searching for hours." Mark plopped down, leaning against a tree. "It's useless, Dodger."  
"No way. Don't give up, c'mon--"  
"I'll... I'll be right here. Don't worry 'bout it. My ankle's killing me anyways..." He took his leg in his arm, unwrapping and re-wrapping the binding. Dodger sighed.  
"Stay safe, okay...? I'm gonna go keep looking."  
"Yeah. See ya." Mark's eyelids drooped, and his breathing relaxed. Dodger looked away, and walked off.  
She had to find Enis.  
And if Mark wouldn't help her, then she would work alone.  
Yet as she walked, the woods only got brighter and brighter, leading her to the edge.  
"What....?" She breathed as she stepped into a sunlit place. One man sat nearby, tending to a fire, on which he was roasting two fish. He glanced up, and noticed her.  
"Oh. You're out, eh?"  
"Do I know you?"  
"No. However, you ARE someone from Liar's Forest. And having been there... It ain't easy to leave."  
"My friends are in there--"  
"They're stuck there now, then. Don't go back. They're gonna be trapped for as long as they won't say the truth."  
"What're you talking about?" Dodger muttered, crossing her arms as the guy picked up one of the fish.  
"The forest will keep you there until you tell the truth. Kept me for two months. I'm still waiting on my mates."  
"But Mark and Enis--"  
"I've waited three years. You won't get 'em back, lady."  
"One, I ain't no lady. I'm Dodger. Two, watch me." She shoved her chin into the air, and walked right back in.  
She had to save them. Whether it was easy or not.  
~  
Mark was sitting silently, holding his machete in one hand, mostly giving up. Everything was cold, yet... Slightly less cold than before. His ankle felt like a dead weight, yet he still struggled to his feet.  
"You're their protector, Mark. Their guardian. Don't let them down, idiot." He muttered, raising his head up to the canopy above. "Don't lose 'em. They're what you have left."  
"I... uh... I'm fifteen? Have I said that one before?" A familiar voice answered him, and he turned.  
"Dodger--"  
"Mark!" She cheered, her face peeking out from between the trees as she ran up to him, wrapping him in a hug.  
"What'd you find?" He asked after returning the gesture, slightly awkwardly. Dodger drew back, holding onto his arms.  
"So, you're not gonna believe this. I found how to get out of here. Lies. Lying gets you stuck deeper, telling the truth gets you out. So. What've we lied about?"  
"You got out...?"  
"Yeah. I didn't feel the need to lie to you guys."  
"Did you see Enis out there?"  
"...No luck. Seems like he's... trapped deeper in, I guess..." She looked away, rubbing the back of her neck, then snapped back. "What'd you lie about while we were here?"  
Mark huffed. "Nothing important--" A cold breeze cut him off. "I'll tell you later. Right now, we've got to look for Enis. I'll go for the center. What do you lie about?"  
"Well. I said obvious things, but--"  
"Okay, good. Sounds alright. I'll be off."  
"What about me?" She mumbled, as Mark took off, limping quickly. "I... guess you're ignoring me..."  
~  
The center of the forest took half an hour for Mark to reach, but he managed to lie his way there, mumbling the first things he could think of. The darkness was like a blanket, yet the cold was like ice stabbing into his bare arms with every step, yet somehow, somewhere, there was something, a noise to pull him on.  
A kazoo.  
Enis's kazoo.  
He dragged his feet onward, plowing towards what could have been a simple hallucination.  
"Enis!" Mark called out, begging the air to clear enough to show him something. He reached into the supply bag, pulling out a lighter, and flicked it open.  
A mass of black sap answered him, and trapped inside, just barely moving, was a figure.  
The figure was curled into a ball, one hand covering his head, and his vest buttoned to the top, unlike the collared shirt he wore. His brown-blonde hair was stuck up all around his head like a plasma ball, but there was something clutched in the hand he kept to his chest. A book, leather-bound and cracked with age, was shoved directly against him.  
"Enis."  
No answer. Mark rested a hand against the sap, and recoiled.  
Unlike what he had expected, it had the texture of jello. And, in fact, it was pulsating.  
Pulsing just like a heart.  
He took a deep breath, and shoved his hand into the jelly-like sap, reaching towards Enis.  
He wasn't close enough.  
He wasn't anywhere close enough.  
Mark took another breath, and he plunged in, dropping the lighter to the ground, since its flame would be extinguished immediately in the jello-substance.  
Enis needed him.  
He needed him more than ever, and he couldn't just leave him for the heart of the forest to keep.  
He struggled forwards through the inky blackness, straining his eyes to get any visual, and thrust his hand forwards, swiping through the gel as fast as he could. Nothing. Another step, another swipe. Nothing. One more step, one more try.  
His hand locked onto something bony.  
Mark moved back, pulling with him the figure he had seen, falling back onto the ground, the chilled body collapsing on top of him, shaking heavily.  
"Enis," he breathed.  
"M-Mark?! Mark, it's dark, I can't see--" Enis's voice was scratchy, nervous, close to tears. He shivered heavily, and Mark held him tight, trying to stop him from shaking.  
"I know. Hey. Just... Just listen. You gotta tell the truth. Just... Some sort of thing you're lying about."  
"...What?"  
"It's this forest. It's cursed. Now just talk to me. I'm right here. I won't judge." Mark held his friend closer, trying to erase the darkness around them. He closed his eyes, and Enis finally reacted.  
Enis's voice cracked horribly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I wanted to save him...."  
"Enis? Are you--" Mark nearly asked.  
"No--" A loud sniffle broke Enis's charade. "Y-Yes."  
"It's okay. I'm here."  
"I sh-should've saved him..."  
"Hey. Hey, don't worry. I'm here. I forgive you. It's alright, yeah?"  
"N-no, it's not, it's--"  
"It will be someday, if not now."  
A streak of light etched its way into the scene.  
"Mark, I'm... I'm sorry, I... I'm a horrible friend, I..."  
"It's okay. You're my friend. 'Course I won't care if you make a few mistakes. Besides. You're the best monster I've ever known."  
"D-Do you really mean it?"  
"Why wouldn't I?"  
The light was getting brighter as they laid there, Enis shaking in Mark's arms, until finally Mark pushed Enis to the side, standing up, and he reached out a hand to his friend.  
Enis took it, and grabbed Mark in a hug, burying his head in Mark's shoulder as he stood.  
Mark didn't react for a moment, then hugged Enis back. After all, it was only common courtesy.  
"...I ship it," Dodger said, walking up to them from in the woods. Mark jumped back, grabbing his machete from the ground and gesturing wildly. Enis yelped at the gesture, jumping back as well, and Dodger laughed. "C'mon, boys. There's a werewolf's summer home to go visit. If you get moving quick, I won't even ask what the slime on your clothes is."

**Author's Note:**

> If Random Encounters uses any of this as an idea then I'll cry. I'm honestly crying enough that they noticed me on a livestream.


End file.
